See Chapter Summaries Chart
Timeline of Events
1st generation
Heaven and Earth give birth to the Titans and a number of monsters.
Part 1, Chapter 3
1st generation
The monsters are exiled to the depths of the earth and the Titans take control, led by Cronus.
Part 1, Chapter 3
2nd generation
Fearing defeat, the Titan Cronus eats his first five children, but Rhea hides the sixth, Zeus.
Part 1, Chapter 3
2nd generation
Zeus defeats Cronus, frees his siblings, banishes the Titans, and becomes king of the gods.
Part 1, Chapter 3
2nd generation
Zeus and his siblings have additional children, establishing the 12 major gods of Olympus.
Part 1, Chapter 3
3rd generation
Jason becomes Greece's first hero by completing the Quest of the Golden Fleece.
Part 2, Chapter 1
3rd generation
Zeus's child with a mortal grows up to be the hero Perseus, who defeats a gorgon and a sea monster.
Part 3, Chapter 1
3rd generation
Greece's greatest hero Hercules completes 12 labors to appease Zeus's jealous wife, Hera.
Part 3, Chapter 3
4th generation
Heroes of Greece lead armies to Troy after the Trojan prince Paris steals the Greek queen Helen.
Part 4, Chapter 1
4th generation
Odysseus's ships venture for 20 years around the seas as Odysseus returns from the Trojan War.
Part 4, Chapter 3
4th generation
After the Trojan War, Aeneas ventures to Italy where, after more wars, he founds the city of Rome.
Part 4, Chapter 4
Chapter Summaries Chart
| Introduction to Classical Mythology | Edith Hamilton outlines how the myths of ancient Greece came to be, describing these myths as one of the first literar... Read More |
| Part 1, Chapter 1 | The Titans were the first gods, sometimes called the Elder Gods, notable for their enormous size and strength. Cronus ... Read More |
| Part 1, Chapter 2 | In contrast with the intrigues and schemes of the Olympian gods, two earth gods are regarded as "mankind's best friends"... Read More |
| Part 1, Chapter 3 | Out of Chaos and nothingness emerges Love, which creates Light and Day. Then Heaven and Earth, known as Uranus and Gaea,... Read More |
| Part 1, Chapter 4 | Io is a Greek princess whom Zeus seduces in her dreams before consummating the affair. Hera is suspicious of her husba... Read More |
| Part 2, Chapter 1 | Venus (Aphrodite) becomes jealous of a young princess named Psyche (which means soul), whose beauty and sweetness become... Read More |
| Part 2, Chapter 2 | Pyramus and Thisbe, a story that appears in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, grow up in homes next to ... Read More |
| Part 2, Chapter 3 | The Quest of the Golden Fleece originates in the story of a prince named Phrixus, whose father Athamas takes a second wi... Read More |
| Part 2, Chapter 4 | Phaëthon learns from his mortal mother, Clymene, that his father is Helios, the sun god. When father and son meet, the... Read More |
| Part 3, Chapter 1 | King Acrisius of Argos fears his daughter Danaë is having a son because the child is prophesied to one day kill Acrisius... Read More |
| Part 3, Chapter 2 | Theseus's father, Aegeus, is an Athenian king who leaves Theseus and his mother in her home in southern Greece. Before A... Read More |
| Part 3, Chapter 3 | Hercules is the son of Zeus and a mortal named Alcmena, but he is raised as the son of her husband, Amphitryon. Zeus vis... Read More |
| Part 3, Chapter 4 | Atalanta's parentage is not clear, but it is apparent her father is disappointed at having a daughter. He leaves the inf... Read More |
| Part 4, Chapter 1 | The conflict leading to the Trojan War begins when the goddess of discord, Eris, is excluded from the wedding party fo... Read More |
| Part 4, Chapter 2 | Achilles knows he is fated to die in Troy after he kills Hector. Near the city gates Paris shoots an arrow, guided by Ap... Read More |
| Part 4, Chapter 3 | After the Trojan War ends, Athena and Poseidon turn against the Greeks they once supported because the Greeks fail to re... Read More |
| Part 4, Chapter 4 | Aeneas is Venus's (Aphrodite's) son and second only to Hector in the Trojan Army. He escapes with his father and son w... Read More |
| Part 5, Chapter 1 | The gods favor Tantalus, a son of Zeus, but he returns their favor by killing his son Pelops, cooking him, and serving... Read More |
| Part 5, Chapter 2 | Cadmus is Europa's brother, who is sent to look for her after Zeus assumes the form of a bull and kidnaps her. Cadmus ... Read More |
| Part 5, Chapter 3 | Cecrops is the first king of Attica, the country surrounding Athens. In some stories, he is said to be half human and ... Read More |
| Part 6, Chapter 1 | Midas is a king of Phrygia who takes in a drunken man named Silenus. When Midas returns Silenus to Bacchus, the god gr... Read More |
| Part 6, Chapter 2 | Either the goat who nurses baby Zeus or the owner of the goat who nurses Zeus, Amalthea possesses the "Horn of Plenty,... Read More |
| Part 7, Introduction to Norse Mythology | Edith Hamilton describes Asgard, the home of the Norse gods, as a "grave and solemn place," in sharp contrast with the r... Read More |
| Part 7, Chapter 1 | Signy's brother is the hero Sigmund. Her husband kills their father, Volsung, and captures Sigmund, but Signy frees him.... Read More |
| Part 7, Chapter 2 | The Norse gods are aloof and heroic. Odin, their king, the All-father, gives men the knowledge of Runes—powerful magical... Read More |
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